KING COUNTY, Wash. — New data shows drug overdose deaths continue to rise in King County, according to Public Health – Seattle and King County and the University of Washington's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute.
In a 2017 report, officials said 379 residents in King County died because of drug and alcohol use, increasing the count from 2016 by 31 people.
The total number of deaths causes by acute drug or alcohol poisoning increased by 52 percent in six years – from 248 in 2011 to 379 in 2017, according to the medical examiner.
The 2017 report also shows heroin and opioids, including fentanyl, as the drugs most commonly associated with overdose deaths in the county. Methamphetamine use also increased.
Officials point out that those who died of fentanyl-related overdoses in 2017 were 33, up by 10 from 2016.
In the first quarter of 2018, there have been 17 deaths involving fentanyl, officials reported.
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Not only are opioids the typical drug found in the overdose deaths, investigations by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office over the past decade show methamphetamine-involved deaths went from 18 in 2008 to 136 in 2017.
"Methamphetamine and heroin are the most common illicit drugs locally. They predominate in police evidence testing, drug court, drug treatment, calls to the Helpline and deaths. Thankfully, based on the 2017 syringe-exchange survey, we know that most methamphetamine and heroin (users) want to stop or reduce their use," Caleb Banta-Green, principal research scientist at the UW Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, said in a statement.
Overall, information from the report points out that half of the overdose deaths in 2017 were among people 46 or younger; 17 percent were dealing with homelessness.
"The opioid epidemic in King County continues to increase, with no end in sight," Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for Public Health - Seattle & King County, said in a statement.
The increase in overdose deaths in King County comes amid the opioid crisis sweeping through Western Washington, as well as the United States.
As the report shows an increase, there is a push to bring safe-injection sites to Seattle, where drug users can shoot up under the supervision of health professionals. The Seattle City Council passed a 2018 budget last year that included $1.3 million to create what could be the nation's first authorized safe-injection site for drug users.
Cox Media Group
